The dinosaurs disappeared. Mammals filled the animal kingdom’s power vacuum. Bully for us.

These past 17 seasons, a Tuscaloosa T. rex named Nick Saban reigned terror upon his adversaries. A more indefatigable, determined and focused coach, I cannot recall. His time is finished.

Like the T. rex, we can debate the reasons that caused Saban’s exit.

This much we know: His departure has created a power vacuum. A kingpin gave up his corner. These next 18 months will determine who fills it.

Georgia is built to last. Kirby Smart forged his incombustible machine out of tungsten. The SEC kingdom leaves room, though, for twin powers. Post-Saban, who’s poised to take up Alabama’s mantle?

“Why not Auburn?” Hugh Freeze recently wondered aloud on this very subject.

I’ll indulge the idea. Auburn ranks near the head of the list of programs that stand to benefit from Saban’s retirement. Longstanding criticisms of the Tigers were twofold: AU operates in Alabama’s shadow, and meddlesome boosters anchor Auburn.

Well, Alabama’s shadow shrank after Saban shifted his focus from wedge blocking to his gap wedge, and in the NIL age, meddlesome boosters rebrand as ravenous investors.

TOPPMEYER: Alabama football's Kalen DeBoer doesn't like to cuss? My stars! Say these phrases instead

OPINION: NCAA cries for help after loss to Tennessee in court. Expect no mercy

WHERE DOES IT END?: Continued College Football Playoff expansion would boggle the mind

OK, so why not Auburn? My rebuttal would start with the game’s most important position. In the continuation of a years-long bugaboo, I’m unconvinced it possesses a difference-making quarterback. Freeze says the job is Payton Thorne’s to lose. That’s coach-speak for this: Auburn failed to attract a better quarterback than its veteran incumbent, who threw for 84 yards in his final start of the 2023 season.

Freeze signed four-star prospect Walker White in December. He'd best develop quickly. The battle to climb the ladder features no pause button. Power vacuums don’t exist for long.

“You do feel like there might be an opening to capitalize,” Freeze said.

How many other programs should be asking — why not us?

Subscribe to SEC Football Unfiltered
iTunes | Google Play | Spotify

Begin with LSU.

Since 2000, it is the only program other than Alabama to capture more than two national championships. Uniquely, three coaches supplied LSU with one during that time. Meaning? Its potential for greatness extends beyond any coach.

Current boss Brian Kelly already attained 20 victories in two seasons. Saban’s exit should accelerate LSU’s recruiting, too. The Tigers’ 2025 class ranks third nationally.

LSU spent big for Kelly to reconfigure his defensive coaching staff in the offseason. The LSU brand and NIL are a happy marriage. The Tigers have the coach, the facilities, the financial support and the recruiting base. As I consider candidates to fill this power vacuum, LSU makes sense.

So, too, does Texas. The Longhorns emerging from this interregnum as a lasting wielder of power would make more sense than its 13-year tour of mediocrity. They enjoy every advantage a coach could covet, and you won’t hear Texas complaining about college sports' shift into pay-for-play. Few schools are better positioned to duel in dollars. In Steve Sarkisian, Texas finally appears to have a coach worthy of the job.

Both Kelly and Sarkisian enjoy a head start on Freeze, too. After finishing 6-7 in Freeze’s debut, Auburn experienced three straight losing seasons for the first time since 1975-77.

How about Tennessee? The Vols are so committed to NIL and pay-for-play that when the NCAA investigated whether they used NIL as recruiting inducements, the state of Tennessee sued and won a court order that froze the NCAA’s NIL rules. Now, there’s a recruiting pitch: Rules? What rules?! Let’s make a deal!

My concern about Tennessee: Despite this nonchalant attitude toward those rules, the Vols haven’t signed a top-10 recruiting class since Butch Jones was the coach. Saban showed how greatness stems from stockpiling elite talent. Since Josh Heupel's arrival, Tennessee has coupled good talent with an effective offensive system, but its recruiting and transfer hauls don’t suggest it will pull alongside Georgia atop the SEC heap.

Oh, I almost forgot one important program to consider in this conversation: Why not Alabama?

The greatest of all time retired. That cannot be ignored.

Alabama replaced Saban with a coach who just took Washington to the national championship game, a coach whose college record is 104-12. Kalen DeBoer's track record shouldn't be ignored.

This transition at Alabama offers a crease of opportunity for Auburn and others in the SEC. To wit, Alabama retreated to the pack for several years after Bear Bryant’s retirement. Even with Saban on the sideline, NIL and transfer free agency chipped away at Alabama’s stranglehold. But it boasted the two greatest coaches in the sport’s history. I don’t consider that a coincidence.

Replacing the guy rightfully is viewed as a difficult task. It’s not impossible. Nebraska sustained Big Eight excellence from Bob Devaney through Tom Osborne.

When Freeze wonders why this can’t be Auburn’s turn, I think his mind and mission are in the right place. I’d offer a counterproposal, though: Why not Auburn? Because Georgia, LSU, Texas and Alabama remain better equipped.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's SEC Columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.

A digital subscription will allow you access to all of his coverage. Also, check out his podcast, SEC Football Unfiltered, or access exclusive columns via the SEC Unfiltered newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Why not Auburn? Hugh Freeze asks key question after Nick Saban retires